This will be the first of six planned sprint weekends this year. To make the competition even more attractive, the world federation (FIA) and the series promoter Liberty Media have made fundamental changes to the format.
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On Friday, the second of the traditional practice sessions will replace qualifying for Sunday’s race. On Saturday, however, the sprint – as agreed – will be preceded by separate qualifying which will replace practice. The sprint qualifications will also be divided into three segments, although their duration will be different: Q1 – 12 minutes, Q2 – 10 minutes and Q3 – 8 minutes.
The sprint, as in previous years, will take place over a distance of 100 km. The eight fastest drivers will be rewarded. The winner will receive 8 points, the second driver – 7, the third – 6, etc. For the six sprints of the season, you can collect an additional 48 points.
Sprint results, however, will not affect starting positions in Sunday’s races. In this situation, during sprint weekends, teams will only have one Friday training session available to them. F1 sporting director Stefano Domenicali has opted for this for some time.
Sprints were first introduced in the 2021 season. This event was also contested three times last year. Already then, the F1 authorities had tried to introduce another on the calendar, but in 2022 there was no agreement. It is only this year that the teams agree on six sprint rounds, after Azerbaijan, they will also take place in Austria, Belgium, Qatar, Austin in the United States and Brazil.
One of the sprint supporters is Spaniard Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin). “I’m looking forward to the return of the sprint this weekend. We’ve seen some great races in Baku in the past and I’m sure it won’t be different now. Especially when we have two qualifying sessions and practically two races ,” said the two-time world champion.
However, the Baku street circuit does not enjoy a good reputation with some drivers. This is – in their opinion – technically difficult, due to which collisions often occur and, for example, in 2018 only 13 out of 20 starters reached the finish line.
The Baku street circuit was built in 2012, but has already been modernized twice. The track was designed by the German Hermann Tilke, a specialist in this type of installation. He is, among other things, he created the Sochi track, where the Russian Grand Prix was held.
The final profile of Baku was presented and approved by the FIA in 2014. Currently, the track is 6.003 km long, the drivers will have to complete 51 laps with a total length of 306.51 km. There are 12 left turns and eight right turns. In places, the route crosses the historic center of the city.
Preparations for the first race in 2016 took almost two years. All the work was overseen by then F1 race director Charlie Whiting, who later revealed after final testing that the Baku drivers would reach very high speeds. This opinion was quickly confirmed. Valtteri Bottas, the Finn, set a Formula 1 speed record at the start of the race for pole position, reaching 378 km/h in a straight line.
This year, after three rounds, the leader of the World Championship standings is Max Verstappen (Red Bull), the best of the previous two seasons. The Dutchman, winner in Baku last year, collected 69 points. The second is his Mexico teammate Sergio Perez – 54 points, and the third Alonso – 45 points. The Spaniard, who moved from Alpine to Aston Martin, is experiencing a “second youth”, this year he finished his three starts in third position.
Worse is the Ferrari team, which was supposed to be the “dark horse” of the season. Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr. is fifth – 20 points, and the ace of the Italian team – Charles Leclerc from Monaco – with the achievements of six “points” is in 10th place.
Czołówka klasyfikacji generalna MŚ (po 3 z 23 wyścigów): 1. Max Verstappen (Holandia/Red Bull) 69 pkt 2. Sergio Perez (Meksyk/ Red Bull) 54 3. Fernando Alonso (Hiszpania/Aston Martin) 45 4. Lewis Hamilton (W. Brytania/Mercedes) 38 5. Carlos Sainz Jr (Hiszpania/Ferrari) 20 6. Lance Stroll (Kanada/Aston Martin) 20
MS, PAP
